Welcoming Labour's plans to cut university tuition fees for students attending English universities to £6,000 a year and increase maintenance grants, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "The squeeze on wages, booming property prices and growing student debt have made life extremely tough for young people. As a result, they are likely to be the first generation that ends up poorer than their parents.

The government has missed the perfect opportunity to encourage private companies to pay their staff the living wage by not taking full advantage of new European guidelines that come into force today (Thursday) says UNISON.